Study of the effect of composite constrained layers in vibration damping of plates

To add damping to the system, viscoelastic materials (VEM) are added to structures, in order to enhance damping effects of the VEM, a constraining layer is attached. Due to the addition of the material on the system the fundamental characteristics of the systems are altered much. This paper analyzes the damping effect of the constraining layer on plate type structures numerically using the FEM software ANSYS. Experiments are conducted to validate the analytical results. The use of weightless composite materials as constraining layers has been analyzed. Results are compared with the conventional constraining layer materials. The results showed that composite materials give a better damping effect without much altering the fundamental characteristic

Enhancement of Fracture Toughness Characteristics of Woven Jute Fabric Mat Reinforced Epoxy Composites with SiC Fillers

Natural fiber reinforced composites are attracting the attention of industries toward a sustainable and environment-friendly material for the future demands. The main drawback pertaining to the use of natural fiber composites lies in its inferior strength in comparison to its counterpart synthetic fibers. This research focuses on improving the fracture toughness of woven jute fabric mat with different orientations (0°, 30° and 45°) in epoxy resin by incorporating fillers and tested in universal tensile testing machine. Silicon carbide (SiC) particles of three sizes 26 µm, 54 µm and 72 µm were incorporated in the matrix in different weight ratios (5%, 10% and 15%). The fracture toughness of the jute/epoxy composites increases with the increase in the amount of SiC particles up to 10% addition and then it shows decreasing trend with further addition. The fracture toughness values show upward trend when the fiber orientation changed from 0° to 45°. Fractography of the tested specimen captured by scanning electron microscope which reveals the fracture of fibers and micro cracks in the epoxy matrix due to the applied load. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is also conducted for predicting the most influencing parameters on the fracture toughness

Mechanical and Corrosion Behavior of Al7075 (Hybrid) Metal Matrix Composites by Two Step Stir Casting Process

Abstract This paper investigates the mechanical properties and corrosion behavior of Metal Matrix Composites prepared using Al7075 alloy as a matrix, Silicon Carbide and Titanium Carbide as reinforcement particles. Two step stir casting process was used to fabricate the composites by varying volume fractions of Silicon Carbide and Titanium Carbide (0 to 15 vol. %). Microstructural analysis, mechanical and corrosion behavior were used to evaluate the performance of the composites. Uniform distribution of reinforcement particle was observed through optical photomicrographs. Vickers micro hardness tests were performed and the hardness values were increased with an increase in reinforcement from 0 to 15 vol. %. The tensile strength of the 10 vol. % of aluminum hybrid matrix composite was better than that of the base alloy. In 3.5% NaCl solution, it was observed that the 15 vol. % of the aluminum hybrid matrix composite have higher corrosion resistance in comparison the base alloy